Seven Twitter critters that define destinations on social media

Samantha Shankman, Skift

- May 05, 2013 8:02 am

Skift Take

Social media for a travel attraction should be engaging and give insight into a destination; it’s easier to be creative with the voice of dinosaur trapped in a museum than as a staid social media manager.

— Samantha Shankman

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Tourism boards can border on boring when they push out a stream of scheduled tweets that shout dates of upcoming events at followers. And it can be difficult to create one voice to define a destination that is filled with all kinds of attractions and locals.

That’s why tourism boards, museums, and travel attractions are turning their Twitter accounts over to a single clever character.

The best example of this is the Banff Squirrel, which Skift interviewed last month for insights into his social media strategies. Banff was kind enough to share the names of his friends that are also working Tweetdeck looking for potential visitors, sharing facts related to their destination or exhibit, and giving a place a voice, all in the real time.

Although it is impossible for any destination to know the impact that their critters’ jokes have had on real-life visitor count, all agree that it’s raised awareness among potential visitors and locals.

“The LASM mummy itself has been a staple for locals to visit for nearly 50 years,” says Kistler. “The social media presence is allowing people to rediscover the mummy, and therefore it generates a great deal of curiosity and publicity.”

Read more about how each character was chosen to take control of the Twitter handle and what they’ve done for the places they represent in the slideshow above.

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